[.ca] Why Mexicans Don't Drink Molson (ISBN 1553652258)

Amazon.ca:
It's hard not to feel pessimistic about Canada's chances of transcending perennial bridesmaid status on the world's business stage after reading Why Mexicans Don't Drink Molson. If author Andrea Mandel-Campbell is to be believed--and given her experience as a foreign correspondent for London's Financial Times, Argentina's Business Week, the Miami Herald, and the Globe & Mail--and she is--the current (soon-to-be-ex?) G8 nation is less investment powerhouse than provincial backwater. Using illustrative examples too numerous to list (but including the titular Molson company whose colossal failure in Brazil is emblematic of Canada's larger foreign expansion problem), Mandel-Campbell describes a nation hobbled by arrogance, diffidence, xenophobia, short-sightedness, excessive government intervention, and a general lack of moxie, as well as some really appalling manners. "In 1997, the Mexican president returned to Vancouver to attend an APEC leaders' summit, which included a dinner held in his honour with the CEOs from eighteen Asia-Pacific countries. During the dinner's opening speeches, the Canadian hosts stumbled while trying to pronounce Zedillo's name. The most embarrassing point, however, came when the head of the Vancouver Port Authority attempted to engage Mexico's minister of commerce in conversation. 'Do you own a car?' she asked, followed by: 'Do you live in an apartment?' The Westcoast Energy people were already squirming in their chairs when the head of the Port Authority managed to outdo herself. As the waiter came over to fill the water glasses, she leaned over to the Mexican minister, lightly touching his elbow, and confided, 'In our country, it's safe to drink the water.'" Mandel-Campbell argues that the real action is unfolding in China; if Canada hopes to soar in areas of manufacturing, trade, R& D and finance, it must step outside its comfort zone, adjust its worldview and take a damn chance already or the missed opportunities will continue to mount. The author closes with examples of entrepreneurs and companies that have done just that with bona fide success while suggesting tenable ways of reversing this downward trend. Why Mexicans Don't Drink Molson isn't easy reading, but it is essential for anyone--business or lay person--unwilling to be left behind in our ever-changing world. -- Kim Hughes

A wake up call:
In the first part of the book it is upsetting to read about all the Canadian failures in building global companies or in keeping good Canadian companies Canadian. However the last part describes our strengths and outlines how they can be used to enable Canadians to prosper. A "must read" for politicians, business managers and anybody interested in keeping Canada from slipping into poverty as assembly plants and head offices and all their spin-off economic activity leaves Canada.

Required reading for Canadians of all ideological stripes:
Andrea Mandel-Campbell has done an excellent job with this book. It reads well and easy despite covering issues under the broad topic of business and economics; many business and economics books read more like a textbook then a book most people want to read for pleasure. The author gives a good history of how we arrived where we currently are with respect to the role we play in international business and trade. I have to agree with several of the claims (which are backed up with data) made by the author. Essentially, the author repeats the old adage that we are brokers of wood and wheat; the list of commodities we sell is a fair bit longer, but that doesn't change the fact that we don't produce many things, we merely harvest natural resources that we've been endowed with. The book is important because it compares our place in the global economy to that of other "minor" or middle-states such as Scandinavian countries like Sweden, small European countries like Switzerland or small Asian tigers like Hong Kong, Malaysia or Singapore. We are falling behind many countries around the world because we haven't adapted to the changes in the global marketplace; we don't outsource enough manufacturing to places like China, we don't even invest enough in China while all other major traders and producers are doing so. We rely on our natural resources endowment, which can't last forever, because we are being too myopic and thinking only about the short term rather than how our country can remain competitive in the long-term (e.g. think of the economic well-being of your small children and your grandchildren). Fortunately I haven't given anything away about the book; there aren't any secrets as to what it is about. And there are plenty of interesting stories within the book from short "case studies" on individual Canadian businesses that have adjusted to the current (and changing) economic reality to businesses that failed to adapt and disappeared as a result. There are also several interesting historical tales that help the reader understand more about how the economy developed in Canada (mainly with the help of American an British entrepreneurs who saw opportunity in our impressive resource endowment). The author also highlights how governments have failed to wean our businesses off the government and taxpayer dole. There is a great deal of impressive information in this book, but it's not at all overwhelming. The book is an exceptionally easy read considering the subject matter and it's laid out well. The author is a journalist and does a good job of telling an interesting story.

This book will make you wince:
This is a scathing account of how we, as Canadians, are being left behind in the world of global trade. The author gives many examples of companies which have fallen by the wayside as international competition and takeovers have basically turned us into a nation of employees. Chock full of fascinating trivia about corporate Canada, this book was a page turner from start to finish. The number of missed opportunities for Canadians is absolutely staggering. If is wasn't for the US demand for our raw materials, we would have been bankrupt a long time ago. Well written and easy to understand for readers with little or no business knowledge, it is essential reading for all Canadians with an interest in the economic future or our country.